Limassol , Cyprus -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Cyprus is known for its sunshine , its ancient ruins and its delicious halloumi cheese , but one thing that is less well known is that it is also home to the oldest named wine in the world .

Commandaria is a dessert wine with a flavor as rich as its history . It is originally believed to have been given its name by crusading knights in the 13th century , but to have first been made up to 5,000 years ago .

It is produced in the fertile high-altitude slopes in the south-west of the island that became known as `` La Grande Commanderie '' during the Crusades . Around this time , the Knights of the Order of Saint John renamed the local wine after their new protectorate .

Throughout the following centuries , stories of the wine abound . According to legend , King Richard the Lionheart of England was so taken with commandaria that at his wedding he pronounced it `` the wine of kings and the king of wines . '' Equally struck by the intoxicating liquor was the French King Philippe Augustus who is said to have declared it to be `` the Apostle of wines '' .

Over time production continued to grow . By 1879 the British explorer Sir Samuel White Baker recorded that Cyprus was annually exporting 155,000 `` okes '' -LRB- a Turkish measurement that translates roughly to 230,000 liters -RRB- of commandaria to Austria alone .

All the elements of Cyprus

In the coastal town of Limassol , on the sunny southern coast of Cyprus , the most popular brand of commandaria -- KEO St. John -- is produced to a recipe that is now protected by a legally enforced appellation , the only one held by Cyprus .

Dimitris Antoniou , senior oenologist at KEO , believes the wine they produce is very special . `` In it you have all the elements of Cyprus : you have honey , herbs , vanilla , spices , and dried fruits such as plums ... it is very complicated , '' he says .

One distinguishing feature of commandaria is that after the grapes are picked , they are left in the sun for ten days , which increases the density of their sugars .

The grapes are then pressed , the wine is fortified -LRB- usually with a high percentage grape-based alcohol -RRB- and then it is aged for at least two years in oak barrels before being bottled . As the years roll by , the amber liquid intensifies in both viscosity and sweetness .

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Dimitris , together with George Metochis , senior winemaker at KEO , oversee the vast operation where annually over 130,000 liters of wine are produced , largely for market within Cyprus , but also exported to Russia , Scandinavia , France , the United States and Australia .

The cavernous KEO vaults currently house 400,000 liters of commandaria with a range of vintages ; the oldest batch dates back over a century .

Ancient heritage , modern interpretation

Archaeological digs , conducted over the past decade , have unearthed evidence that the history of wine in Cyprus stretches back not just hundreds , but thousands of years . Some believe that Cyprus may have been the site of the earliest wine harvests in Europe , stretching back 5,000 years .

Alongside the mainstream labels producing commandaria , a new generation of winemakers is looking to this more distant history to try to get in touch with the country 's original viniculture .

One such winemaker is Lefteris Mohianakis who has vineyards in the high hills near the village of Zoopigi . The two grapes he uses -- Mavro a red grape , and Xynisteri a white -- have long been used to produce the island 's famous sweet wine . But when Lefteris talks of Cypriot wine , he speaks of `` Nama '' , the more ancient name for what the crusading knights of the 13th century came to call commandaria .

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Lefteris Mohianakis is respectful of commandaria 's great history , but says that his `` Anama Concept '' wine takes inspiration from the past while still very much looking towards towards the future .

`` I 'm working on the base of tradition , but I 'm trying to involve oenology , which is a contemporary science , '' he says .

Throughout his career , Mohianakis has worked in wineries around the world , and in his view , Cyprus is unique in its ability to grow sweet wine .

`` I truly believe that terroir -LRB- the geology and climate of a place -RRB- is one of the most important things towards producing a high quality wine , '' he says .

`` That is why nobody in the world can produce a Sauvignon Blanc like Marlborough in New Zealand , or a Cabernet Sauvignon like Bordeaux . That is the reason why I strongly believe that Cyprus is one of the rarest terroirs that can produce such high quality sweet wines . It is the sun and the soil . It is unique . ''

So does Mohianakis believe that his wine tastes the same as the nama that was being enjoyed in Cyprus 5,000 years ago ?

`` I think that historians can tell stories and can give you an idea about the past , but senses can not be transmitted through history . So we can not understand how an ancient nama smelled or tasted , '' Mohianakis says .

`` My mentality is that we are walking on the base of tradition , on the base of the things transported from generation to generation -- the tales , the feelings -- but the best thing we can do is to give the vine the opportunity to choose for itself what kind of product it wants to create . Those vines have been there for 150 years ... I am just trying to give the vines the opportunity to express themselves through my wine . ''

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Commandaria is recognised as the oldest named wine in the world

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The sweet wine has been grown in Cyprus for over 5,000 years

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in 1191 , King Richard the Lionheart called it ` the wine of kings and the King of wines '